Deep website optimisation: why we build on Netlify (and when WordPress makes sense)

A slow website costs money: Google ranks it lower and visitors leave before the page renders. But 'making it faster' isn't about installing a plug-in. In this article: which metrics actually matter, how we make sites architecturally fast on Netlify, and why WordPress is still sometimes the right choice.

What Google measures: Core Web Vitals

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) — how fast the main element becomes visible. Target: under 2.5 s; we aim under 1.5 s.
• INP (Interaction to Next Paint) — how fast the page reacts to clicks. Target: under 200 ms.
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) — how much the layout jumps while loading. Target: under 0.1.

On top of that there's TTFB — the time before the server even starts answering. And that's exactly where static architecture wins everything.

Why static + CDN is structurally faster

A classic dynamic site rebuilds every page on every visit: PHP runs, the database is queried, templates render. A static (Jamstack) site does that work once — at build time — and then serves ready-made HTML from a CDN edge near the visitor. Result: TTFB in tens of milliseconds, no database buckling under load, and an attack surface of practically zero.

What Netlify concretely adds

• Global edge CDN — your site physically sits close to every visitor.
• Atomic deploys — every change is a complete immutable version; rollback is one click, a half-finished deploy cannot exist.
• Cache strategy — assets get versioned URLs and aggressive cache headers; HTML always stays fresh.
• Edge redirects and headers — language detection and security headers run on the CDN edge, without server logic.

And WordPress?

WordPress powers over forty percent of the web — for good reasons: an unmatched ecosystem of plug-ins and themes, an editorial environment every marketer knows, ACF for structured content and WooCommerce for e-commerce. For a content-heavy platform with an editorial team, or a shop, WordPress is often the right call — if configured seriously: object caching (Redis), PHP opcache, a page cache, a CDN in front and a strict plug-in diet. Also powerful: headless WordPress — WP as the CMS, visitors see a static frontend. The best of both worlds.

Our approach

We pick the architecture to fit the goal, not the other way round: lead-gen and company sites we build static on Netlify (like firmatic.nl itself — Lighthouse scores 90+), content platforms get WordPress or a headless setup. Always with measurable targets agreed up front. Curious what your site could gain? The free scan checks the technical SEO basics right away.